A South Sudan official is describing the latest break in the on again, off again peace talks between the government and rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar as merely a consultative recess.
Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said the break would allow negotiators to consult with their principals on some of the sticking points in the talks.
“What has happened is that the negotiators have been asked to go back to their principals to consult on some of the issues where there is some concurrence. Some people seemed to agree on certain points. So they have to go back and consult with the principals. They will resume on the 15th of this month,” he said.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional group that has been mediating the talks, had given both sides 45 days from last August to work out the details of a transitional government which recognizes President Salva Kiir as President of South Sudan and called on Machar’s rebels to nominate someone for the position of prime minister.
Benjamin said whatever disagreements may remain have nothing to do with formation of an interim government.
“The interim government will be formed once you have a political solution. There must be a political agreement so that you have an interim government to implement what has been agreed upon. In principle that has been accepted by the government,” Benjamin said.
He again accused rebels of intransigence during the 10 month-long negotiations.
“You cannot blame the government that has signed the protocol which formed the basis for negotiations. It is the rebels who refused to sign that protocol; it is the rebels who are violating the cessation of hostilities on the ground,” Benjamin said.
Last August, IGAD chair Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn accused both the government and the rebels of deliberately violating the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, thereby preventing the IGAD-led peace process from achieving a sustainable political settlement to the conflict.
IGAD threatened in August to hold responsible any party which tries to obstruct the negotiations.
Source http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-peace-talks-take-another-break/2473710.html
Newer articles:
- South Sudan: Too Much At Stake for Govt to Expel Foreign Workers - 06/10/2014 13:38
- Kala-azar cases on the rise in South Sudan: UN - 06/10/2014 12:00
- South Sudan: Flawed Security Bill Headed for Vote - 06/10/2014 12:00
- ‘If famine comes to South Sudan it will come through the barrel of a gun’ - 06/10/2014 11:37
- South Sudan: Frustration Breeds Violence in IDP Camps - 06/10/2014 09:23
Older news items
- Frustration Breeds Violence in S. Sudan IDP Camps - 06/10/2014 02:47
- Famine threatens South Sudan if conflict deepens - report - 06/10/2014 01:13
- South Sudan food crisis: children bear brunt of man-made disaster - 06/10/2014 01:05
- South Sudan peace talks put on hold again - 05/10/2014 20:54
- Security bill: US calls for inclusive consultations in S. Sudan - 05/10/2014 07:51
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Continues – Analysis - 01/12/2024 17:47
- South Sudan secured over 282 150 doses of oral cholera vaccine to contain the cholera outbreak - 01/12/2024 17:43
- The idea of one nation and one people is a distortion of our reality!!! - 29/11/2024 12:54
- In South Sudan with aid boss John Rynne: 'The maps drawn in colonial times are starting to erode' - 29/11/2024 12:47
- 'They have nothing': Aid workers struggle to save lives at edge of war-torn Sudan - 29/11/2024 12:36
Random articles (all categories):
- قلم جرئ - جامعة اعالى النيل و خطاء المستقبل - 29/07/2014 11:01
- Indeche: Kenyan goalkeeper explains journey at South Sudan side Atlabara FC - 19/06/2020 01:39
- Sudan, South Sudan agree to oil flow restart within two weeks: mediator - Reuters - 12/03/2013 00:00
- South Sudan expels UN humanitarian coordinator - 01/06/2015 13:42
- South Sudan Floods Leave 1.6 Million Children At Risk Of Hunger - UN - 07/11/2023 06:38
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 58400 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22214 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21356 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 18880 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 17990 times